Article
Small native trees and large shrubs for a small yard, and how to place them
Which native trees fit a small yard, how far to set one from the house, the wires and the septic field, and three plants to put where one lawn tree stood.
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What counts as smallHow far from the house, the wires and the septic fieldOne trunk or severalSmall trees and shrubs by the job they doThree plants where one lawn tree stoodMistakes that do not fitCommon questionsSourcesA small yard needs a tree that stops at about 30 feet, with a crown that fits the space it is given. Serviceberry, eastern redbud, white fringetree and flowering dogwood fit most lots, and large shrubs such as nannyberry, blackhaw and witch hazel reach small-tree size. Where each goes depends on its mature width and on what surrounds it: the house, the walk, the wires, the septic field and the property line.
What counts as small
Small means under about 30 feet tall and about as wide, and under 25 feet within 20 feet of a power line. The shop lists the small trees and the shrubs on their own.
Width is the number people forget. An eastern redbud of 20 to 30 feet spreads 25 to 35, and a witch hazel, sold as a shrub, spreads 15 to 20. Half the spread is the reach of the branches on each side, so spread, not height, sets the distance from a wall or a fence.
Size also takes time: a white fringetree adds 6 to 10 inches a year, a young American plum on a good site close to 3 feet. For how big a species gets and how fast, the growth estimator projects its height decades ahead.
How far from the house, the wires and the septic field
| Next to | Keep a small tree |
|---|---|
| A house foundation | 15 feet, or half its mature spread if that is more |
| A building or a sidewalk, in the native landscape plans | About 20 feet |
| A driveway | 10 feet, for a tree under 20 feet tall |
| Between sidewalk and curb | 50 to 150 square feet of soil, with the trunk 2 feet or more from the pavement |
| A power line | Within 20 feet of the line, a tree that stays under 25 feet; 20 to 50 feet out, under 40; beneath it, shrubs under 15 |
| A septic drain field | 10 feet for shrubs and 20 for small trees, and none of the aggressive rooters |
| The property line | Half its mature spread, so the crown stays on your side |
The site check tests any of these for a species: it opens on a redbud 15 feet from a wall, and the species and the distances are yours to change.
A small tree goes at least 15 feet from a foundation, and native landscape plans space one about 20 feet from a building or a sidewalk. Spacing can also be worked out from the crown:
“A specific way to calculate spacing is to find out the expected mature canopy size of your tree, and cut that number in half.” (University of Maryland Extension, Planting Trees In Our Changing Climate)
A few small trees can stand closer, 8 feet for white fringetree and 10 for sweetbay magnolia, and where the figures disagree the longer one is the cautious choice.
A tree under 20 feet goes at least 10 feet from a driveway. Between sidewalk and curb, the minimum for a small tree is 50 to 150 square feet of soil, with the trunk 2 feet or more from the pavement. An upright or narrow small tree is the better choice beside a walk, and the 1- to 3-inch thorns of Washington hawthorn make it dangerous near paths.
Power lines
The utility sets the ceiling near wires:
“make sure any tree planted within 20 feet of neighborhood power lines is a variety that will grow to a mature height of 25 feet or less.” (FirstEnergy, Selecting the Right Tree and Vegetation for the Location)
A middle zone, 20 to 50 feet from the line, takes trees up to 40 feet, and the ground directly beneath a line takes shrubs under 15 feet. Downy serviceberry is ideal under a power line, and serviceberry, dogwood and flowering crabapple suit the low zone, so flowering dogwood and American crabapple can go there too. Before digging, call 811 so the buried lines are flagged.
The septic field
A septic field needs sun and no roots in its pipes. Willows, red and silver maples, beeches, birches, elms and poplars are ruled out. Other trees stay as far from the field as their roots will spread, and there are floors for small plants:
“Shrubs with less aggressive root systems should never be planted any closer than 10 feet and small less aggressive trees no closer than 20 feet from the drain field.” (Clemson Cooperative Extension, Landscaping Over Septic Drain Fields)
The property line
At the property line the same arithmetic applies: a serviceberry 10 to 15 feet wide goes 5 to 8 feet in to keep its crown on your side, a redbud 13 to 18. Where a utility easement runs along the lot line, the answer is large shrubs under 15 feet. To test whether a species will thrive on a particular spot, the site check weighs the distances to the nearest power line and wall along with zone, sun and soil moisture.
One trunk or several
Serviceberry, redbud, hazelnut, witch hazel and sweetbay magnolia grow naturally as multistem clumps. A clump spreads from the ground and suits a bed or a corner, while one trunk lifts the crown over a walk. Serviceberry, redbud, blackhaw and nannyberry can all be trained to a single trunk. Decide young, and thin a clump to three to five stems that do not touch, because stems that grow into each other trap bark and make a weak union.
Small trees and shrubs by the job they do
Every plant below is in our catalog, shortest first. Blue Whale Trees grows all 30 as saplings, and 17 of them as seed, acorns or nuts as well.
| Plant | Height, feet | Spread, feet | Sun; soil | Job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black chokeberry | 3–6 | 3–6 | Sun, part shade; dry to wet | Shrub; fruit, fall color |
| Beach plum | 4–8 | Spreads in thickets | Full sun; dry sand | Fruit; salt-tolerant |
| Sweet pepperbush | 4–8 | 4–6 | Sun to shade; average to wet | Shrub; August flowers |
| Ninebark | 5–10 | 5–10 | Sun, part shade; dry to wet | Shrub; June flowers |
| Arrowwood viburnum | 5–10 | 5–10 | Sun to shade; dry to wet | Shrub; fruit for birds |
| Northern bayberry | 5–10 | 5–10, spreads in colonies | Sun, part shade; dry to wet | Screen; winter fruit |
| Mountain laurel | 5–12 | 4–8 | Shade to sun; acid, drained | Evergreen; June flowers |
| Winterberry | 6–12 | 6–12 | Sun, part shade; moist, acid | Shrub; winter berries |
| Spicebush | 6–12 | 6–12 | Shade to sun; average to wet | Shrub; March flowers |
| American hazelnut | 8–12 | 8–13 | Sun, part shade; average to dry | Nuts in fall |
| Dwarf chinquapin oak | 6–15 | Spreads in low colonies | Sun, part shade; dry to average | Small oak; early acorns |
| Rosebay rhododendron | 10–15 | 5–12 | Shade, part shade; moist, acid | Evergreen; July flowers |
| Blackhaw | 12–15 | 6–12 | Sun to shade; dry to average | Shrub or one-trunk tree |
| Nannyberry | 12–18 | 8–10 | Sun to shade; dry to wet | Shrub or small tree |
| Bear oak | 6–20 | Spreads in thickets | Full sun; dry sand or rock | Small oak; acorns |
| Mountain camellia | 10–20 | 10–15 | Part shade; average | Flowers in July |
| White fringetree | 12–20 | 12–20 | Sun, part shade; average to wet | Flowers in May |
| Witch hazel | 12–20 | 15–20 | Shade to sun; average | Flowers in November |
| Downy serviceberry | 15–25 | 10–15 | Sun, part shade; average | Flowers, June fruit |
| American plum | 15–25 | Spreads in thickets | Sun, part shade; dry to wet | Fruit in August |
| Flowering dogwood | 15–30 | 15–30 | Part shade, sun; average | Flowers in April |
| Pawpaw | 15–30 | Spreads by suckers | Shade to sun; average to wet | Fruit, August to October |
| American crabapple | 15–30 | 15–30 | Full sun; average | Flowers, fruit |
| Eastern redbud | 20–30 | 25–35 | Sun, part shade; average to dry | Flowers in early spring |
| American smoketree | 20–30 | 20–30 | Full sun; dry to average | Plumes, fall color |
| Washington hawthorn | 20–30 | 20–25 | Full sun; average to dry | Fruit; thorny hedge |
| Sweetbay magnolia | 15–35 | 15–35 | Sun, part shade; average to wet | Scented flowers |
| Carolina silverbell | 30–40 | 15–30 | Part shade, sun; moist, acid | Flowers in spring |
| American holly | 20–50 | 18–40 | Sun to shade; average | Evergreen; berries |
| Sourwood | 25–50 | 12–25 | Sun, part shade; acid, drained | Flowers, fall color |
- Flowering. Bloom runs from serviceberry and spicebush in March to witch hazel in November. Dogwood is an understory tree that wants high shade and morning sun, and fringetree, in the olive family, is attacked by emerald ash borer. Sourwood and silverbell pass 25 feet, so they go well clear of wires.
- Evergreens. Rosebay belongs on the north side of a house, and slow American holly reaches 20 to 50 feet in time, so it goes at the back of a lot.
- Small oaks. Dwarf chinquapin oak belongs to the white oak group and bear oak to the red, the split red oaks and white oaks explains. Both are among our rare oaks and are sold as acorns too, the subject of planting acorns, nuts and seed.
- Shrubs in a tree’s place. The native shrubs under 15 feet can go directly beneath a line, and the yard trees and nut and fruit trees pages list the rest of the catalog.
Three plants where one lawn tree stood
A shade tree with a 40-foot crown covers more than 1,200 square feet. Native landscape plans replace lawn with layers instead: a small tree, shrubs, perennials and a groundcover, one species of each, with large shrubs about 5 feet apart. From our catalog:
- Sun: a downy serviceberry over northern bayberry and sweet pepperbush, all on the plans’ list for sun.
- Shade: a flowering dogwood over spicebush and witch hazel, all on the plans’ list for shade, or the Shade Understory Pack.
- Wet ground: a sweetbay magnolia over winterberry and black chokeberry.
- Dry sand: a dwarf chinquapin oak with beach plum, two of the six in the Dry Sandy Site Pack.
Along a property line, the Bird & Berry Hedgerow mixes seven fruiting natives, a mixed screen rather than a row of one species, which one pest or one wet year can take. To see what grows with a tree already chosen, the companions tool lists the plants that share its ground or want the same sun and soil.
Mistakes that do not fit
- A canopy tree in a courtyard. Cherrybark oak reaches 80 to 120 feet and wants 50 feet from the house; the six trees not to plant near a house fail a small lot the same way.
- A wet-site plant on a dry slope, or the reverse. Sweetbay, winterberry and pawpaw want soil that stays moist, and mountain camellia does not recover from wilting, while American smoketree, beach plum and bear oak fail in wet, heavy ground.
- An acid-soil plant on limy ground. Sourwood, silverbell, sweetbay, winterberry and rosebay turn yellow on high-pH soil, and mountain laurel fails on lime.
- One plant of a kind that needs two. Pawpaw and beach plum need a second unrelated seedling and hazelnut a second bush within 50 feet, while holly, winterberry, spicebush and bayberry need a male among the females.
- No cage. Small trees keep their foliage within reach of deer, so cage them from the first day; protecting young trees from animals has the hardware, and planting bare-root trees on arrival covers the first weeks.
To choose a species for a spot by size, zone, sun and soil, the tree finder filters the catalog on all four.
Common questions
What is the best small native tree for a small yard?
For most lots, downy serviceberry: 15 to 25 feet tall and 10 to 15 wide, with early spring flowers, June fruit and a crown that fits under a power line.
How far from the house should I plant a small tree?
University of Maryland Extension says at least 15 feet from the foundation, and half the tree’s mature crown width, which for a 40-foot crown means 20 feet.
What can I plant under power lines?
Within 20 feet of a neighborhood line, plant a tree that matures at 25 feet or less, such as serviceberry, white fringetree, flowering dogwood or American crabapple. Directly beneath the line, plant a shrub under 15 feet.
Sources
- Selecting and Managing Trees to Avoid Conflicts with Overhead Utility Lines: Virginia Cooperative Extension (Wiseman, Fox, Matiuk and Christensen, 2024): the low, medium and tall zones beside distribution lines, the 25 and 40 foot limits, shrubs under 15 feet beneath a line and along lot lines, narrow small trees beside walks, the hawthorn’s thorns, calling 811, and small trees staying within reach of deer.
- Selecting the Right Tree and Vegetation for the Location: FirstEnergy: trees within 20 feet of neighborhood lines kept to 25 feet, and serviceberry, dogwood and flowering crabapple for that zone.
- Landscaping Over Septic Drain Fields: Clemson Cooperative Extension (George M. Dickert): trees with aggressive roots, distance set by root spread, the 10 and 20 foot minimums, and a drain field that needs sun.
- Planting Trees In Our Changing Climate: University of Maryland Extension (Christa Carignan): 15 feet from a foundation for a small tree, half the mature crown width as the way to work out spacing, and 10 feet from a driveway for a tree under 20 feet.
- Landscape Designs with Native Plants: University of Maryland Extension: plans that replace lawn with a small tree, shrubs, perennials and groundcover, a small tree defined as 15 to 30 feet tall and wide and spaced about 20 feet from a building or sidewalk, shrub spacing, and the plant lists for sun and shade.
- Plants for Mixed Privacy Screens: University of Maryland Extension (Christa Carignan): a screen of mixed species over a row of one, and why a single-species row can be lost to one problem.
- How much space does a tree’s root system need to grow properly?: Iowa State University Extension and Outreach: small trees defined as under 30 feet, and their minimum soil area and distance from pavement between a sidewalk and the curb.